Bright realizations
by Reiyuka
Summary: For the Shadow King of the host club, realizing that his emotions run deeper than they ought to comes harder than you might think. And what about those bulbs in that dark, empty room? Haruhi and Kyouya pairing, expect minor fluff. Please comment!
1. Chapter 1

**Bright realizations**

**Chapter one: First Light  
**_by Reiyuka_

He had seen the gracefully crafted cup teeter on the edge of the table for the biggest part of the day and had almost judged it to be a very lucky cup, until it fell and shattered about ten minutes before the end of the poor girls' session. With meticulous care he wrote the girls name into his notebook, adding a note that he would have to look at how much that particular precious piece of china had cost. It was a good thing that Yanagawa was a regular of Haruhi's. It would just be added to her monthly bill. While business was important, he disliked breaking the illusion for simple matters as settling a debt. After all, it was important that the customers had at least the illusion that they were cared for by the hosts.

He sighed a little, adding a footnote about talking to Suzushima-san for another one of those cups; girls seemed to like the soft cherry blossom pattern on the tea cup. He looked up and noticed how Haruhi was carefully helping Yanagawa gather the pieces, making a soft comment that brought a happy smile on the girls face. She truly was a natural, that girl. It had not taken long for Haruhi to make profits equal to the twins' and even the King – which made it all that more difficult to keep adding things to her debt. Admittedly, the twins' profit was not per person so in a way that was a bit unfair, unless you reasoned that the incestuous brotherly love was sold as a package, anyway. It didn't matter to the Shadow King of the host club – even if he didn't understand the appeal, the twins sold wonderfully, and that was all that mattered.

Kyouya hadn't noticed he'd been staring until Haruhi looked up and donned a warm smile. He smiled gently in return before averting his gaze back to his notes. This had been happening too much lately. He'd be thinking about something and spacing off while doing so, usually when he was accidentally looking in Haruhi's direction. This did not bode well. He'd made up some ham and eggs story about checking up on her, so that she wouldn't think he was staring at her for any other reason. Simply considering that was ridiculous enough.

He turned away uncomfortably, walking to the table where he had placed his laptop and sitting down beside it. He opened the registry about their tea cups and sighed a little as he scrolled through it.

Today was the last day before the summer holidays. The Host Club would take one week off separately before going on a joined vacation, much like the year before. Invitations had been mailed earlier that day to the regular customers, urging them to come join the Host Club in their summertime frolicking.

The biggest feature was the fact that Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai would also be present. It was a lucky coincidence that the cousins had their summer break at the same time as the rest of them. Haninozuka had been able to get today off already and was cheerfully entertaining the group of girls who were awaiting their private time with either the twins, the King or Haruhi. They hadn't yet bothered to look for new hosts, and Kyouya was not exactly sure if they would. It was up to his best friend, however. Also, if worst came to worst and they would need something new to attract customers, he could always entertain some of the ladies himself.

Usually he took on the case of caring for the precious princesses who were early. It pleased him that he could settle most of the business part of the Host Club in actual host time. Unconsciously, his eyes wandered over to Haruhi. It bothered him sometimes that he couldn't participate in some of the conversations. There they would be, his family, talking and joking and laughing and being their annoying selves. And he'd be busy with balancing checks and designing a new photo book layout. Where had his personal life run off to?

Ah well. Two hours of this to go, and then he'd have a week of Kyouya time.

It bugged him already.

* * *

"You shouldn't eat so much sweets, Hani-senpai. You're a college student now!" Honey giggled cheerfully in reply before shoving a big piece of custard cream pie into his mouth. "Sweets are good for any age, Haru-chan!" The slender brunette smiled in reply and sat down across from him with a sigh. He smiled understandingly – entertaining girls was fun and all that, but after a while it was almost as tiring as a day of actual hard work.

"Cake?" he offered. She smiled sweetly and Hunny, like most of the Host club member, felt the urge to hug her for being such a cutie. Haruhi, like Takashi, was one of those rare people who he didn't mind sharing sweets with. She shook her head no, though, and he pouted. "Come now, Haru-chan, it'll make you feel more cheerful."

She nodded softly, giving in for his sake as he well knew, and allowed him to force-feed her a small piece of his cake. "What's the matter, Haru-chan?" Honey truly felt worried; Haruhi was such a closed-off person that it was a rarity for her to show any emotion, let alone showing how down she was.

"Ah, it's nothing, really." She ran her hand through her short brown hair in what seemed like annoyance – annoyance aimed at herself. "I just hate it when Kyouya-senpai is checking up on me." Hunny tilted his head in confusion and asked in his normal cutesy manner, "Checking up on you?" The girl nodded in reply, taking a sip from a cup of tea that one of her admirers had placed in front of her. "Yeah, you know, when he's assessing your skills. It's like he watches your every move." She shuddered a little and then continued, "He's been doing that a lot lately. It makes me so nervous, knowing that he's watching me. I almost had a heart attack when Yanagawa-san dropped that cup of tea."

Haninozuka's eyes widened slightly as he shoved another piece of cake in his mouth. "I see."

- In a dark room, a single light bulb on the wall flickered on. –

* * *

**Authors' notes:** G'day all! Yay, finally a new story by me. I'll be adding the next chapter in two days, probably. I hope you'll like it.  
I've grown fonder and fonder of the Kyouya/Haruhi pairing due to reading fanfics. It's been a while since I've watched the series, so forgive me if I make horrible mistakes. In any case, I love love constructive criticism and squeals of excitement. :D Let me know what you think! 


	2. Intermezzo 1

**Bright realizations**

**Intermezzo:**** Packing  
**_by Reiyuka_

Restraint had always been one of Kyouya's many virtues, or so he liked to think. But when Haruhi stayed behind after her last customer to help with gathering the supplies that needed to be taken with for the holiday, he felt that restraint lacking at the sight of her upturned, smiling face.

In a way, Kyouya was worried that he had fallen for Haruhi's Natural Host ways, but that sounded about as absurd as the King suddenly admitting how much he loved the girl. He liked the fact that she could stay as silent as him without much trouble. So now both of them were sharing their companiable silence without much thought on either part. Then Haruhi decided to shatter the silence.

"Kyouya-senpai, I've been meaning to ask; why did you insist on gathering these things yourself?" She chuckled a bit and he imagined that it was due to his blank facial expression as he looked at her. "I mean, I applaud the effort, of course," she continued, a smile in her voice, "but I imagine that you can have one of your servants or even someone from the school arrange it." Her delicate hands closed around a tea cup, coincidentally being a cup from the set that had been made incomplete only two hours before. He shrugged lightly, reaching for a cup next to the one Haruhi was taking, his knuckles accidentally brushing against hers. "The things you do yourself are usually done better, no?" Kyouya shuddered involuntarily at the sudden contact, taking the cup swiftly and putting it in it's place in a large wooden trunk especially crafted for the purpose of transferring 200 tea cups from Ouran to the Ootori family vacation estate.

Her face lit up with a smile as she looked up at him, agreeing, "I suppose that's true. And of course, what Ootori Kyouya does is always better than what the common man does." He would have retorted that comment if it hadn't been for that sweet smile, showing how she was joking. Instead, he dryly muttered, "Naturally", and continued his work.

The silence lingered a little as they both continued fitting the cups into the trunk. Part of Kyouya missed their previous relationship – or at least, their previous relationship according to him. Before he could be sitting alone with Haruhi - him working on something Host Club related, her studying something or other - and almost forget that she was sitting across from him; let alone even be in the same room. Now he was acutely aware of her every move, wondered what she was thinking as she let out a little sigh and had trouble not glancing at her every other minute.

He wondered what she thought, sharing these silences as they did. Probably nothing; Haruhi was not like the girls they usually entertained. Besides, Kyouya concluded, her heart was fully distracted by the Kings' latest mischief. Or the twins, for that matter. He cleared his throat a little before asking, "Is everything alright?" She looked up, her eyes even larger than usual, if that was possible. He was glad that he didn't have to explain why he asked, as she answered, "You mean with the mayhem Kaoru and Hikaru created? Of course."

Dryly, Kyouya teased, "You know, a yoai relationship between you and Tamaki might create quite a buzz. Might be good for business." Haruhi laughed softly and pushed at him with her hip, shaking her head in reply, "I doubt it." She grinned a little as she called his bluff, "However, we could apply that tactic right before you two leave school." He refused to show as much of his surprise as he felt, so instead of making the choking noise that was burning at the back of his throat, he coughed a little. Her grin widened slightly as she returned to the task at hand. "I think we're almost finished, by the way. Do you need my help with anything else?"

Kyouya stared at her face as she focused on carefully putting yet another cup into the trunk. He stared at the large, luminous brown eyes, the long lashes and the peachy-coloured skin, wondering if it was as soft as it seemed. Instead, he asked her, "Not in the mood to go home yet?" Usually she was one of the first to head for home; if it was because of her father or something else, he didn't know. Her reply held her answer, though. "Nah, not really." She carefully wiped a small tea stain from the cup in her hands, delicately licking her finger to aid her in wiping it clean. "Dad had an early appointment with one of his regulars, so he left a little while ago already." He watched transfixed as her tongue – so small, thick and pointy – touched the skin of her finger again, and a shiver ran down his spine. "Ah, I see." He forced himself to look away and grab the last tea cup, wrapping it in paper and forcefully shoving it into the trunk. "This was the only thing that needed to be arranged, today," Kyouya tried to keep the reluctance he felt out of his voice. Haruhi, however, didn't even bother and he almost lost what was left of his sanity as she replied in a depressed tone of voice, "Oh... I guess I'll be heading home, then."

Dear lord, Kyouya prayed silently, what was a man to do?

* * *

They waited silently at the entry gate of Ouran Academy for Kyouya's ride to arrive. Haruhi wished she had admitted to him how she hated to come home to an empty house. Or how she dreaded not seeing them all for the following week. Last year she had still considered them to be the epitome of obnoxiousness. Sometimes, Haruhi admitted to herself, she still thought that was true. Never before had she felt so depressed at being parted from them, though. 

At first Haruhi had thought the problem lied with Tamaki-senpai. Tamaki-senpai who would leave Ouran High School forever in a couple of months. Tamaki-senpai for whom she had fallen off a bridge in hopes of keeping him here. Tamaki-senpai who she couldn't love, no matter how much she wished for it at times. He was so good to her, despite his idiocy and lapses of sanity. She knew he cared – how could she not, with the twins who tried to push the two together at every opportunity – but she was almost positive that he didn't love her as such. Perhaps the idiot truly thought of her as of a beloved daughter. Her mind blanked at how to deal with THAT, but it was better than him being in love with her.

No matter what Tamaki-senpai's feelings, Haruhi now knew that her own recent emotions of loneliness lied not with him. She figured that it was just her own silliness. Probably the fact that her father had been so busy lately, or something. She had never before had problems with coming home to an empty house. No, that had started only a month or two ago. How she dreaded it already. Her mood fell even more when she saw a sleek, black car turn the corner at the end of the street. "There's your ride," she pointed out. To her own ears, her tone sounded lifeless. Kyouya only nodded and she looked up at him, smiling a little as an apology for how bad a companion she was being. "I suppose I'll see you in two weeks. Will you let me know on the time of departure and such?" He nodded silently, looking at the Mercedes in the distance.

"My father has been asking me to invite you over to tea." Haruhi blinked in confusion and looked up at him, "Your father? But I thought he hated me." Or you, she thought bitterly. Honestly, the Ootori monarch had no idea how lucky he was to have a son such as Kyouya. She still felt a burning anger as she thought of that time last year. Her anger dimmed lightly as she heard Kyouya dryly comment, "Not at all. He finds you amusing and apparently wishes to learn more about you. He and the Director have some sort of bet going on concerning you." This simply made Haruhi's confusion increase. "A bet? That's... weird. I suppose I'll have to come over for tea sometime." His purple eyes were impossible to decipher, as usual. Lately, however, Haruhi had found them to be beautiful, in great contrast to how she used to find them cold and calculated.

The large car halted in front of them and Kyouya opened the door, rather slowly, Haruhi noted. "Can I offer you a ride home?" She blinked a little at the sudden friendliness, but shook her head in reply. "No, thank you. I have errands to run on my way home. But thanks for the offer." She bowed a little towards his driver, who smiled and tapped his sunglasses in reply. Kyouya nodded brusquely and stepped into the car. "I'll call you tomorrow to set up an arrangement for tea." She smiled warmly at him and nodded, closing the door behind him and lingering her fingers a moment on the window. Silently, Haruhi chided herself for that. For a second, though, she thought she could feel his warmth through the glass.

Her stomach filled with nervous butterflies and a sense of dread at the same time as she watched the car disappear to where it had come from. Tea time at the Ootori household – what would that be like?

Ah well. At least she'd be able to see Kyouya.

* * *

**Author's notes:** Tada! I updated on time - even before I was planning too, but meh. Yay for me!  
In any case, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, I must admit. I just love how Haruhi and Kyouya interact. In any case, thanks to sakuraluv24, MistressMizu, Rangerette and ManufacturedGuidelines for reviewing the story - it means a lot to me. Also thanks to everyone who added the story to their alert list. I hope I don't dissapoint you all. 

Let me know what you think, ne? ;"D Oh, and the next chapter will come soon, I promise. I just might take on the tactic of waiting for a certain number of reviews before posting... but nah, that'd be mean. It probably depends on when I finish chapter 4. I want to be at least one chapter ahead of what I post. Expect it around the weekend, ne?

- Reiya-chan


	3. Chapter 2

**Bright realizations**

**Chapter 2: Second light  
**_by Reiyuka_

"Enter."

Kyouya often wondered if his own voice sounded that cold and distant. Correction, he had often wondered that after starting the Host Club together with Tamaki. He carefully opened the door, closing it with equal care after taking that scary step across the threshold. "Ah, Kyouya!" The monarch of the Ootori family had a voice that boomed authoritively wherever he went. Kyouya smiled calmly at his father as he explained, "Father, I just came to tell you that I've invited Haruhi to come have tea with us this Sunday." He had called Haruhi first thing that morning and was pleased to have her father on the phone first. Ranka had taken to him like flowers to the sun ever since he had first called him for some pictures. Truthfully, he had no idea why. Explaining the reason of his call to her father had made sure that she couldn't deny the invitation, though, since her father would push the issue.

At the sound of her cheerful consent, however, he wondered for a moment if he had even needed the failsafe. His father seemed pleased as he nodded, "Very good. What took so long, though?" Kyouya smiled distantly as he replied, "Haruhi is a good student, father. During school she spends all of her time studying, but now that we have a short break she found that she had time enough to join us for tea." That was a lie, of course – well, sort of, Haruhi was indeed a good student after all. He had told his father that he had invited Haruhi multiple times before – after all, the old man asked about her every other sunday, when the whole family sat down to tea – but that she sadly had to decline each time. His father, however, nodded contently, "Excellent. It's a shame that your brothers won't be able to join us tomorrow, but I'm sure that the young ladies' presence will be more than enough." Kyouya bowed lightly, showing his agreement and bidding his father farewell.

He had almost made a safe exit – just two steps, dammit! – when his father called him back, "Oh, Kyouya? The young lady does know what to wear to our family gathering, I assume?" The edge in his fathers' voice suggested that if Haruhi dared to come to the event dressed as a boy, he'd be sorry. "Of course, father," was his simple reply. Kyouya bowed once again before elegantly hurrying out of the room. Haruhi would know what to wear, though... right?

* * *

"Young Master, Ootori-kun for you on line 2."

Cheerfully, the blonde yelled "Merci!" through the impressively large entry hall of his fathers' small mansion near the school. With a swoop of his arms and legs, he dropped himself in one of the large fauteuils that occupied most parts of the house. A quick press here, a light going on there and Tamaki picked up the phone with a chipper, "Kyouya, mon ami! To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?"

The young man on the other side sounded more stern than usual as he stated, "I have no time for this nonsense, Tamaki. I'm looking for the twins, are they with you?" The blonde blinked a little, simply shaking his head at first before realizing that Kyouya had no way of seeing that, "No, not here. Aren't they on vacation with their mother?" The Dark King of the host club groaned a little at his side of the line and Tamaki concluded that something definitely was off. That suspicion became a simple fact as he heard Kyoya mutter, "I can't believe I forgot that. Or that none of the servants at their house knew where they were. What kind of servants are they, anyway?"

Amusedly, Tamaki tried to calm down his oddly frustrated companion, "What's the emergency, Kyouya? Maybe I can help." He could almost see Kyouya run a hand over his eyes in exasperation as the man tiredly explained, "Haruhi is coming over for tea tomorrow. And don't start," he intervened before Tamaki could even begin to make horrid exclamations at what this would do to his poor daughters' commoner mind, "It was my fathers' idea. He's been harping at me to invite her for months now." The blonde felt that there was more behind it than that, so he questioned, "And?"

After a short silence, Kyouya admitted, "And... she seemed depressed yesterday, so I asked her over. I couldn't not go through with it after I'd asked her, of course. Otherwise I would've kept on saying how Haruhi was too busy." A wide, obliviously happy grin spread on Tamaki's face. Of course it was a sad thing that Haruhi had been depressed, but Kyouya had done a nice thing. Kyouya! And for Haruhi, his daughter, even. Haruhi! "Does mom like our little girl?" he teased, the wide grin widening as he imagined Kyouya's snarl. "Don't be so daft, Tamaki! You said you'd help – now are you going to?" Tamaki kept on grinning on his side of the line, leaning back into the large, dark-red fauteuil as he pondered the multiple possibilities of his beloved daughter and his beloved best friend getting together. Ah, what a wedding that'd make!

"I still don't see the problem, though." In about five seconds and twenty sentences, Kyouya explained the issue of the clothes. With a maniacal grin, Tamaki decided to embark on mission "Get Haruhi to wear the correct dress". It took him only a little while longer to realize that the solution was pretty simple. "Kyouya, just find a dress you think is appropriate, attach a note to it explaining the hows' and why's and have it delivered at Haruhi's." In exasperation, Kyouya yelled into the phone, "I KNOW THAT, you idiot. That's why I was looking for the twins – they know what suits Haruhi well. I don't even know her size." Tamaki blinked a little in surprise. Boy, Kyouya was really freaking out about this. The only other time Kyouya had lost his cool was when he had been assaulting Tamaki himself. The maniacal grin widened. "You know Haruhi as well as I do, Kyouya," he replied, the cheerfullness coming through in his voice, "Just get something with as little frills as possible. And don't you have her size in your files?"

The other side of the line remained silent for a while. Idly, Tamaki played with the cord of the phone, wondering if his ami would yell again. The Low-blood pressure Shadow King was very agitated at the moment, after all. Instead, he murmured a soft, "I knew that... thanks." and hung up.

Tamaki blinked at the receiver in his hand. "Um... you're welcome?"

-

- In a dark room, a second light bulb on the wall burned brightly. -

* * *

**Authors' notes:** Me again! And an update, in time, huzzah! The next chapter is slowly becoming extremely large and there's not really an ending in sight, but ah well. I'll probably shorten it a lot eventually, but for now it'll have to do. Next update will be on wednesday, I hope you'll look forward to it.

Thanks again to the reviewers and those of you who added my story to your alerts list. Again, I hope I won't dissapoint you. Happy reading!


	4. Intermezzo 2

**Bright realizations**

**Intermezzo: Tea time  
**_by Reiyuka_

It was so very unusual for him to open the front door of their mansion that even Haruhi seemed surprised for a while. The widening of the eyes disappeared though as she smiled brightly and bowed in greeting, "Good afternoon, Kyouya-senpai!" He returned the bow calmly, complete composed in contrast of the slight panic attack he had went through yesterday. He allowed his eyes to run down her slender frame in admiration, keeping the smugness out of his voice as he said, "I see that the outfit fits well." He carefully hid his smile behind his hand as she rolled his eyes at him. "Yeah, thanks. You shouldn't have worried, though," she admitted as he opened the door further, letting her in, "I would have dressed nicely and very gender specific." Her eyes widened slightly as she took in the elegant displays of riches of their entry hall – a 12th century vase here, a trim of gold there – which fitted perfectly for the Ootori family style.

Kyouya gratefully used that time to take in the Chanel ensemble he had chosen for her. The salesclerk had assured him that the knee-length, maiden-blue silk skirt would look stunning with the bluish-white woollen sweater. He was so glad to have listened to the girl. The twin hair pins in her hair along with the simple plastic bracelets around her wrists and the white, small heels on her feet must have been her own additions, he gathered, but they suited the environment and outfit perfectly. He truly felt like she belonged, despite her uncanny kindness and sense of honour.

"In any case," the girl looked back at him and nodded lightly, "thank you again for the clothes. They're really beautiful." He smiled softly in return and swallowed unnoticeably, gracing her with a truly heartfelt compliment, "And they suit you marvellously." Kyouya pushed carefully against the frame of his glasses as she seemed to blush a little. "Please," he waved his hand as a guide, "everything is set up on the terrace." She followed him almost meekly through the house, a small purse clutched in her hands, and he idly wondered what she was carrying in the purse. He guided her through the hallways, breaking the silence only to explain which of his family members would be present, "My two older brothers are both busy with work, so they won't be joining us today. My mother and sister are present, though. And my father, of course." Haruhi nodded lightly, her eyes glancing over one of the many family pictures on the wall as she stated, "He is hoping to make me feel uncomfortable." "Probably," he agreed and smiled a little to himself, glad that she realized the main reason why she was being suddenly thrown into the Ootori household. He was still not sure what to expect, though, and felt a bit worried at that. His father could be unexpectedly cruel and rash at times, despite his composed outward appearance. It felt like going into a war without a decent strategy for victory.

He almost jumped as she placed a tiny hand in his, giving a reassuring squeeze, "Don't worry, Kyouya-senpai. I'll be able to manage." She looked up at his face, eyes large and sweet like always, a calm smile on her lips, "Besides, you're here. It'll be just fine." She carefully made her way through the long hallway, picking her way with care as to make as little sound as possible with her tiny heels. As thus, she was completely oblivious to the fact that Kyouya was standing on the same spot where she had squeezed his hand, staring at her back in astonishment. Did she trust him to protect her? Had she truly such faith in him?

"Haruhi..." he breathed her name without any thought, his fingers flexing uncontrollably as he looked at her. She turned around and returned the look, her head tilted questioningly, "Hai, Kyouya-senpai?" He smiled kindly as he closed the distance between them, racking his brain for something to say. He had hoped that she hadn't heard his little exclamation, but sadly no such luck. What to say, what to say...

"Would you like a tour of the grounds after tea?" His voice was a bit tense as he asked her that, a question born from the simple thought that she liked being outside and liked flowers. She nodded a little, "Sure, that sounds nice." He nodded once more, sealing the deal before placing his hand carefully on the small of her back again, guiding her out onto the wooden deck that made the terras.

"Mother, father, Fuyumi-nee-san... May I present miss Fujioka Haruhi to you?" His mother and sister rose immediately, smiling their identical sweet smiles in greeting, although one set of lips was more wrinkly than the other. Fuyumi had been so thrilled at the fact that her youngest brother was bringing a girl home with him. Their mother had been more occupied with what snacks to order. At Kyouya's suggestion she had refrained from ordering a large supply of sweets. Instead, again at her sons' suggestion, the table was set with elegant, pearly-white china, a plate of cutely decorated cupcakes and a box of dry biscuits.

"Haruhi-chan, it's such a pleasure to meet you!" Fuyumi's sweet voice already showed her sincerity but it was accompanied by the gesture of taking Haruhi's hands in her own. He stood behind the chair earlier designated by his father as 'the girls' chair', watching the ritual of greetings and squeals that his mother and sister had perfected. He smiled softly as the both of them doted on her, his mother insisting on being called by her first name.

It took a while to get the lot to finally settle down. His father had always had a remarkable patience when it concerned his mother. When they did, Kyouya carefully pulled back the white lawn chair, gracefully offering a seat to Haruhi. She smiled shakily – or at least, he thought it was a bit shaky – and sat down. "I'll pour the tea in a little while," Fuyumi offered, carefully mixing the tea powder with the water in a typically Japanese way. Their father huffed lightly and Kyouya knew what was coming even before the man had opened his mouth. "Do such things in your own house, Fuyumi." His sister smiled sweetly at their father and happily continued her ministrations, knowing just as well as Kyouya did that their mother rather paid attention to other things than making tea. "Honestly," Yoshio continued to no one in particular, "even when you finally married into another family, you're still constantly here." None of the Ootori's made even the slightest reply. All of them had heard these mutterings before and had learned to ignore it over time. Fuyumi carefully continued to mix the powder with the water as Kyouya sat down on the chair next to Haruhi.

"Don't you wonder why they call it marrying into another family, instead of marrying out of your own?" Haruhi's voice was stern, calm, composed... and none of them even pretended not to recognize it as critique. Kyouya felt a need to gape at her like a fish, but if he thought a little about it, this was nothing compared to her little speech of about five months ago. He exchanged a little glance with his mother – who was smiling abnormally bright – which caused her to reach out for the box of biscuits, offering them to Haruhi, "Biscuit?"

* * *

"So, what is it exactly that your father does again?" Part of her had dreaded this question, posed by Ootori-san – or Himiko, as Kyouya's mother had asked her to call her. Haruhi was not ashamed of what it was her father did. In a way she was proud of the fact that her dad could pose as such a pretty woman. A quick glance at Yoshio-san told her that he knew exactly what it was her father did, but he too seemed to be at a temporary loss of words. She sipped her tea, temporarily buying herself some time.

It wasn't what she had expected, but both Kyouya's mother as his sister were truly kind and friendly. Admittedly his mother was quite snobby and his sister not the brightest crayon in the box, but both of those things were nothing she could hold against them. After all, Himiko Ootori had never known anything more than the fabulous rich world she had always resided in and Fuyumi Ootori had never been taught to expect anything more than marriage to a rich man. They were truly wonderful, despite their typically rich-people faults. Sweet, kind, caring and pretty. Another small glance at Yoshio made her wonder once again how that man had deserved such a daughter and wife. And son, really, she reflected with a smile as Kyouya answered the awkward question by saying, "He works in public relations, mother."

Both Ootori women nodded slightly at that – PR, of course for some small company, but a decent profession nonetheless. Inwardly, Haruhi heaved a sigh. It would have been awkward, explaining about her cross-dressing, hostess of a father.

She felt Kyouya tense up as Fuyumi opened her mouth while looking at her from across the small table, "I've always wondered... what is it that Public Relations people do?" Haruhi reached out for a biscuit, deciding to be honest as much as possible. She liked these people, after all, and there was nothing to be ashamed about. "Well, I only know what my dad does," she started, her smile widening as she felt Kyouya tense up a little bit more, "but in general he calls customers who haven't... um... purchased anything lately, takes them out for a drink and convinces them to stay with their... um...firm."

Yoshio-san cracked a smile – Haruhi thought it was probably his first smile in a week – and exclaimed, "Good man, good man." She donned the man, that evil man who demanded so much of his youngest son, the kindest smile she could muster. "Yes, my father really loves his job." Both Kyouya and Yoshio seemed to stare at her for a moment and she involuntarily shrugged it away. Himiko, however, nodded with a smile as she finished her cup of tea, "And I don't see why he wouldn't. Well then, I don't want to be a party pooper or anything, but I have some things to arrange for a social event tomorrow evening. Will you be alright?" This last seemed to be aimed at Haruhi, who blinked a bit at Himiko's obvious concern for her well-being. "Oh, yes, Kyouya-senpai offered to show me the gardens. Besides, it's getting quite late in the afternoon, anyway." Sipping her tea with the greatest of care – imagine spilling on Kyouya's gift! - she didn't particularly notice the Ootori's eyes all being turned to Kyouya.

"I hope you will join us for tea next week, Fujioka-san?" Yoshio's question was more like an order than anything else. Fuyumi and Himiko had already risen, obviously expecting to see the young girl again the following Sunday. Haruhi, however, didn't even ponder the issue. She would've agreed if anyone -but- Ootori Yoshio had asked. Well, perhaps not. She smiled a little at Kyouya as he pulled back her chair, a calm, distant look on his own face. "Thank you for that offer, but I'm afraid I must decline." Once again the present Ootori's stared at her and for about the fifth time during her visit, she felt like a complete alien. Going against the matriarch's wishes was apparently not something that was done often, but Haruhi cared little about it. In truth she cared little about anything the wealthy had to offer. She had learned as much when she had first arrived at Ouran, but every now and then a situation popped up where she was reminded of that fact. It seemed as though they wanted an explanation for her refusal, though, so she admitted, "I already have plans that day. But thank you so much for the invitation."

Kyouya guided her away from the patio and the present company in an almost protective gesture, Haruhi mused with a smile. She paid little attention to the rich gardens and instead carefully glanced at his face. He was unusually quiet, she thought, even for Kyouya's regular behaviour. As usual she respected his need for silence, not saying anything because he chose to remain silent himself. Idly she looked at the blooming orchids and reached out to touch the cool surface of the flower. Had it been this warm before? It seemed like the gentle pressure his hand placed on the small of her back radiated an odd heat. As she glanced at him again, she noted some small things that indicated distress. For one, his eyes were wider than usual and his lips pressed tightly together. She contemplated asking him if something was wrong, but decided against it for the sake of maintaining his chosen silence, knowing that he was probably thinking deep thoughts.

After another thirty minutes of silence, she was thoroughly fed up with it. "I think I should go home, Kyouya-senpai, it's getting kind of late." She smiled politely as he gave her a blank stare, only nodding a little before changing directions, now guiding her to the front of the house. "Would you like me to have someone drive you home?"

Once again she smiled, but this time the attempt faltered at his blank facial expression as he was staring intently at her face. Awkwardly, she shook her head, "No, thanks. I have a bus in about ten minutes, I think." Haruhi didn't add that she liked the stunning solitude of riding the bus, because it gave her the time to think about things. And she had a lot to think about, this time.

She sighed lightly when they reached the immense driveway in the same pressured silence from before. "Well, I'll see you next week, then." She bowed lightly in greeting and turned to leave, but she was immediately stopped by his fingers closing around her wrist. She wanted to turn and ask what was wrong but instead suddenly found herself being pulled towards him. When she opened her eyes, she was half-sprawled in his arms, his purple eyes looking down on her with an expression she'd never seen before. "Kyouya-senpai?" she inquired softly. He made an irritated gesture with his hand and she was sure he'd let go, almost feeling sad at the loss of warmth.

But then he kissed her, and all she could think was, "_I think I'm missing my bus.. Wait... what bus?_"

* * *

**Author's notes:** MWAHAHAHA! Cliffhanger of DOOOM! Hehe, sorry to end it like that, but I rewrote Haruhi's entire part yesterday evening and was having too much fun not to end it with a kiss. The original version had Kyouya being completely weird and silent but instead of kissing her, he ignored her completely, which caused poor Haruhi to wonder what the hell had happened. I think the "happy ending" is better in order.  
In any case, I have bulbs three, four and five ready already - which means that I'd better start writing intermissions, too! Seeing as how I'll be away tomorrow and the entire weekend, I'll try to squeeze in an update on Friday. Let me know what you think, alright? Thanks for the support and comments, it means the world to me. 


	5. Chapter 3

**Bright realizations**

**Chapter three: Third and Fourth light  
**_by Reiyuka_

"Sweetie, could you come over here? You have guests!" The small brunette looked up at the shrill yell coming from down the stairs and hollered back, "Coming!" With the back of her hand she wiped across her forehead, taking a step back to admire the freshly polished banister. Carefully she stowed away the cleaning supplies, dumping the box on a table as she cheerfully made her way down the large staircase.

"Hopefully Arai-kun brought some watermelons with him," she wished out loud, already imagining how refreshing a nice slice of watermelon would be with the soaring heath they were experiencing. The boy tended to linger for about an hour with each visit and Sonoda-san was more than happy to allow her a break during that time. It was fun chatting with him about old acquaintances and new ones. With an energetic little jump she landed at the bottom of the stairs...

...only to be sandwiched between two nearly identical bodies. Instead of Arai-kuns usual soft spoken greeting, a chipper "Yo, Haruhi!" was yelled into her ears. She blinked in surprise, looking left and right before replying, "Hikaru, Kaoru! What are you two doing here?" Twin cheshire grins appeared on their faces and Haruhi mentally groaned. She'd never get any work done with the redheads around.

"We're on vacation with our parents," Hikaru began, allowing Kaoru to answer her unspoken question by adding, "We insisted on coming here so that we could spend time with our lovely little toy. Isn't that wonderful?" She sighed and glared darkly at the most cunning of the twins, dryly stating, "Just swell. Shouldn't you be spending time with your mother, though, if she took you on this vacation?" She wriggled away underneath their arms and headed in the direction of the dining hall, already planning on entertaining the two with tea and food for a while before shoving them out. The twin on her left shrugged lightly, "Not really. We spent two days at the beach and suddenly our mother got inspiration enough for a whole new bathing suit line." The one on her right grinned at her, "We'll be sure to save the cutest one for you, though, Haruhi. So no worries."

Her cheerful mood couldn't be beat by their teasing, so she only glared at Hikaru for a short while before shoving them both through the doors of the hall. "You two don't plan on harassing me here for the rest of your vacation, do you?" With a twinkle in his eye, Kaoru made a cute face, elaborating it by saying, "Haruhi, you shock me! And here we were thinking of keeping you company in your time of need." Hikaru happily chimed in, "You're so ungrateful, Haruhi."

She laughed out loud and shook her head, "My time of need has only begun since you two walked through the door of the hotel. But now that you're here, how about a cup of tea?" They happily nodded and placed their order, sitting down at the first table they came across. When she returned with their cups – and her own – Hikaru dryly stated, "You're awfully cheerful today, Haruhi." She archly raised her eyebrow at him and ignored the comment completely, sipping her tea only to notice that it was too hot and spilling half of its contents on the table and floor. "I'm such a klutz – wait a moment, I'll get something to clean that up."

Gratefully she escaped in the direction of the kitchen, praying to god that Kaoru's suspicious look meant nothing. She really was being a klutz lately, ever since Kyouya kissed her as she left the Ootori estate on Sunday. The memory alone brought a blush to her cheeks – that kiss had been nothing like the one she'd accidentally given Kanako-san. To be fair, she should say kisses, though, Haruhi mused with an oblivious smile on her lips as she rummaged through the kitchen, looking for a mop or piece of cloth. He'd held her so firmly but gently and kissed her over and over again until they had both been out of breath... and then it'd turned out that she'd missed her bus. She'd refused his offer of getting his driver to bring her home – silently hoping that the extra waiting time would be spend kissing – and decided firmly to wait for the next bus. Sadly, he'd gone into the house after a short, polite bow. Haruhi's mind had been torn in two ever since then, partly ecstatic, partly worried. He'd kissed her, which was a good thing. Well, maybe not, she wasn't really sure on that, but it had felt like a good thing. But then he'd left without explaining why he had kissed her... or really without saying anything at all. That couldn't be good.

With a small shake of her head she cleared her mind, or at least tried to, and finally found the piece of ragged cloth she had been looking for. Oddly, it was in its place on the sink, neatly folded and right where she had left it an hour before.

"I need to get my act together," she sighed happily, not planning on getting rid of the happy bubbly feelings at all.

"You know... Kyouya's been watching her a lot lately." He carefully looked at his twin, almost positive that he didn't want to hear this. "Perhaps there's a serious reason for that, other than that she's cute." Hikaru glared at his brother for a moment, muttering, "It couldn't be." Kaoru kept quiet and shrugged a little, stirring his tea patiently as his brother continued to glare, now at the puddle of Jasmine tea on the floor..

"I heard from the King that she went for tea at his house on Sunday," he continued stirring, succeeding in egging Hikaru on with his continued movement, "Heard she made quite an impression, too. Apparently Kyouya's been extremely cheerful lately. So much even that his dad actually asked Tamaki if he knew what was going on." With a soft 'ting' he put the spoon next to his cup, picking the simple white china up to sip the hot liquid. It was good fortune that they had this moment to themselves for a while. He'd been planning on discussing this with Hikaru. Also, his twin was actually keeping silent for once, which meant that he was actually listening at the things Kaoru was trying to tell him. Such luck!

"Of course that doesn't mean that she feels the same way," he added, putting the cup back down again after having swallowed almost half of its previous contents. He glanced up just in time to see the dark shadow that had fallen on his beloved brothers' face lighten at the prospect of Kyouya's possible emotions being unanswered. "Then again, she did seem extremely cheerful just a minute ago, you even commented on it yourself." And again, the shadow fell. Sometimes Kaoru felt guilty for playing with his poor twins' emotions like that. Not too often, though; he had to take plenty of teasing from Hikaru when they were performing their host duties, so personally Kaoru considered this payback. With a small smile he decided he'd bring his twins' feelings back into the happy zone – he'd then decide whether or not he'd bring them back down again. "Naturally we don't know if it has anything to do with Kyouya. Probably not, don't you think?" It was such bliss, watching the identical face in front of him light up like a Christmas tree. It always made him wonder if he could look like a child at Christmas too at the drop of a single word.

When Haruhi returned to their table with a cloth to clean up the spilled tea, Kaoru's choice of bringing Hikaru's emotions down again was taken away from him as Haruhi 'casually' asked, "Have you guys heard anything from Kyouya-senpai lately?"

Twin pairs of light-brown eyes looked at each other, than at her in astonishment. "Not really?"

- In a dark room somewhere on the Ouran grounds, two light bulbs flickered on, one more reluctantly than the other. -

* * *

**Authors' notes: **Ohayou! (Good morning) Writing this chapter was probably the most difficult up until now, so I really hope you like it. I'd started writing this already with the original "depressing ending" so instead of cheerful bouncy Haruhi, it was a depressed Haruhi (and Kyouya, in Kaoru's little talk). I'm very happy with how it turned out, eventually. I don't know when the next update will be; I have to write the next intermission, although I have the next bulb finished already. Let's hope I return with Kyouya - he is so fun to write for. In any case, I hope you like the new chapter! Thanks again for the previous reviews (seeing as how I reply to all of them), and I'm looking forward to reading what you think of this chapter. Happy reading! 


	6. Intermezzo 3

**Bright realizations**

**Intermission: Host duties ****  
**_by Reiyuka_

He watched her observe the water life with three of her charges with a smile on his face. It was weird, but ever since that kiss, he felt a fire rush through him simply at the sight of her. It made him both annoyed and amused. While he felt that he should be experiencing that first emotion more, he somehow felt inexplicably giddy at the memory of kissing her. He didn't want to romanticize the nature of his feelings though. After all, it was simply a case of lust, no more, no less.

Sure they got along well enough – he even considered her as somewhat of a friend – but there was no need to extent the length of his attraction beyond simple primal lust. Lust was an emotion he could understand, he had felt it many a time before. None of them had spent the past year and a half without even the slightest lustful feelings towards their customers. It was impossible to be around attractive young girls and not be interested, after all.

Those minor attractions had never been even close to the rush he'd felt at Haruhi's bare knee touching his leg as she sat next to him at the tea table, a week ago. For some reason, her careless defiance of his father had made the slight warmth grow until it was almost a blazing heath. It had made it difficult to ignore. He still wasn't sure why he'd gone against reasonable thinking and kissed her, but he was happy of it now. She seemed to have liked it. So had he. That was what mattered most... right?

He suppressed a sigh – sighing did not go with the image of Ootori Kyouya – and stood up from under the parasol, brushing the sand off of his swimming trunks. He plastered a polite smile on his lips while taking off his shirt. It was such a bother to simply go for a swim, with all the girls staring at him. He'd never taken on guests and never planned to do so for the remaining time that he would spend as a host. It did caress his pride to have such a large score of them watching him as he took a dive.

The thing that made his pride swell to full size, however, was the fact that Haruhi, too, was watching him.

* * *

"Haruhi-kun, I've been wondering this ever since my first visit to the host club. Why does Ootori-kun not take on customers?" With difficulty, Haruhi dragged her eyes back from the vision of Kyouya Ootori's bare chest, dripping with water beads as he stepped out of the ocean. She smiled politely at Yanagawa-san, shrugging a little, "I don't really know, frankly. I think it's because he prefers to not be sociable." The three girls present, Yanagawa, Hiwatari and Kuroi, gaped at her. "Ootori-kun not sociable? But he's so friendly and polite," Kuroi-san exclaimed, "Not to mention how attractive he is!" Hiwatari-san eagerly nodded, "No kidding! I mean, he's so cool." 

Haruhi smiled friendly at the three of them and shrugged once again, "I must be mistaken, then." Their eyes continued to follow his every move. A ball of annoyance started to grow in the pit of Haruhi's stomach and she sighed a little, thinking of a way to get them to focus back on her. Never before had she felt such protectiveness, but Haruhi figured it was probably just a matter of not wanting them to stare at him so. It was impolite, after all. She smiled at them and tilted her head a little, "If you could, would you designate Kyouya-senpai instead of me?"

Horror was written all over their faces as they turned back at her and Haruhi felt a small wave of accomplishment. Hurriedly the three of them started denying the thought. Smiling amusedly, she allowed them to rant for a little bit although it didn't take long for her to laugh lightly. "Don't worry, you guys, I was just joking. And even if it was true, you girls can choose whichever host you want." To herself, she had to admit that it pleased her that they couldn't designate Kyouya even if they wanted to.

The girls had luckily shifted to another topic, leaving Haruhi time to ponder this new emotion. Her bond with the hosts was more of a protecting nature than anything else. Tamaki, Honey-senpai and the twins all had something of a naïve innocence to them that needed protecting. The twins especially, because she was the first to have broken into their little universe. The thing with Mori and Kyouya was that both of them really didn't consider themselves to be in need of protection, making it all the more necessary for her to protect them. She had never felt a need to protect any of them from the girls they entertained, though. So this was a new sensation for her.

Perhaps a form of possessiveness...?

She wondered.

* * *

**Authors' notes:** Sorry that it took so long for me to update, this week, guys. It's been pretty hectic, the whole getting a job thing. I'm starting tomorrow already, so I probably won't have all that much time for writing. Luckily though I'm pretty far along with the final chapter, so you can expect that one next weekend for sure.  
In any case, as you can see, this is my shortest intermission as of yet. Mostly because I wrote this intermission to keep the form of chapter-intermission going on. The next chapter, as you'll notice soon, follows the previous one pretty well, so an intermission wasn't really needed - not like before. Anyhow, I'm really anxious to hear what you guys think, so let me know, 'kay? Thanks for reading, and reviewing, it means the world to me.  
Hope you like it, and happy reading! 


	7. Chapter 4

**Bright realizations**

**Chapter four: Fifth light****  
**_by Reiyuka_

She ducked and picked up a mother-of-pearl shell, wiping it clean of sand before handing it to him. "I wonder why Tamaki suddenly wanted to bring shells as souvenirs." Kyouya shrugged lightly as he dropped the gleaming pink thing in the bucket, "You know how he gets sometimes." She nodded lightly, knowing well enough how silly the King could be, carefully picking her way through the shells and stones in the surf. He was somewhat reminded of how she had walked through the hallway of his house and smiled softly at the memory. "My sister will probably like the shells, though," he noted, bending down himself to pick up an exceptionally pretty one, "she's always been fond of things related to the sea." She didn't really reply and continued picking up shells, giving him a nice view of her bare legs. A warm feeling rushed through him at the sight of her soft, white skin and he sighed a little in annoyance of his own emotions, no matter how used to them he was getting. He turned away from her so that he wouldn't be confronted with that sight every time she picked up another shell.

"Your sister is really nice. So is your mother, for that matter." He turned back at that, surprised when he found himself looking straight in her eyes. Apparently she'd stood up and turned to look at him while saying that. As an afterthought, she added, "I had fun, then." They hadn't really talked about her visit yet. He wasn't sure if it was because he was worried about what she might say, or because he just wasn't ready to talk about it himself. Either way, what was fun? The kiss? To him, that had been the highlight of the visit, Kyouya admitted, but she might mean something else. He glanced at her figure a moment before asking something he'd been meaning to ask her. "You really dislike my father, don't you?"

She stayed quiet for a while, frowning lightly at the setting sun as she thought about how to answer. Kyouya figured she was probably trying to find a nice way to say how much she hated the man. That'd be such a Haruhi thing to do. Instead, she started with, "I admire him." He blinked and turned to look at where she stood with her feet in the water. "He has accomplished a lot and is very successful. But... I feel like he takes a lot of things for granted." He turned full now, intently watching her face to decipher how much truth there would be in her answer. "Like what?" Instead, his heart jumped slightly as she turned to him and replied, "Like you." Was he having heart palpitations now, too? Maybe he should go see a doctor. First the feverish feelings, now the heart palpitations... They were enough to perhaps deceive himself into believing he was truly ill. But not quite.

"He has such marvellous children who do their best to please him and still he demands more. I mean, I'm pretty sure your sister didn't marry out of love, or at least not completely. She probably forced herself to care for the man that she thought her father would like. And instead of being content, he complains that she's always over at your house. Seriously!" She continued her voice calm though her face betrayed how angry it made her feel. "Is he ever content? Can he truly say, "this is enough" and be happy with it?" She shook her head in frustration. "Not only does he make it difficult for himself to be happy, but he makes it even more difficult for you." Kyouya placed a hand on her shoulder and she stared up into his face, eyes blazing, and he wondered what it would be like to have someone like Haruhi in his bed. She'd probably give without taking or demanding anything. The thought alone aroused him, and he smiled in disgust of his own lust. "Calm down, Haruhi." She breathed in deeply and the fire in her eyes died, making Kyouya wish he hadn't asked her to relax. "I'm sorry, Kyouya-senpai," Haruhi's voice was its normal tone again as she apologized to him, "I didn't mean to rave at you like that. It just... bugs me. Like I said, I admire him a great deal for what he's accomplished professionally, but I disagree with him when it concerns personal things." He figured it was useless to try and explain to her that, like with most of the children of their rank, professional and personal were not really separated.

"Rant all you want, Haruhi," he smiled softly at her and removed the hand from her shoulder, as usual shaking it a little to get rid of the tingly feelings. He'd really have to take care of those lustfull feelings sometime soon – kissing her really hadn't helped, on the contrary even. "I find it amusing, really. You're one of the only people who talks back to my father." She laughed almost shyly, he noted, as he recognized a soft blush on her cheeks.

"Well," she mused with a smile, "at least one of us is amused."

* * *

They sure were a sight for sore eyes, standing together like that in the surf. She hadn't even noticed that the clouds were darkening, a sure sign of an approaching storm.

He hadn't believed his cousin when he had told him his suspicions. Nor had he thought that Tamaki had reason to send the two off to do some fools errand. Seeing them together now changed his mind, though. Haruhi's face was always gentle, so that was nothing new, or so Mori thought, although the same couldn't be said about Kyouya's gentle look in his eyes. The raising of her voice and intense look were very uncharacteristic of her, though.

When he had placed his hand on her shoulder, he'd unconsciously stepped closer. They were so close together, their faces only inches apart. If they kissed... well, Mori didn't know what he would do, but he knew he'd certainly do something. If Kyouya dared to take advantage of the innocent girl, there would be hell to pay.

He had been both disappointed and relieved when he heard Haruhi chuckle softly. It would've made him feel a bit better if Kyouya had turned out to be a fiend. At least then he could've defended the girls' honour, or something like that. Sadly, though, he knew the Ootori better than that. If – and that was a big IF in is opinion – Kyouya truly loved Haruhi... well... then he'd no longer have to protect her.

His heart stopped for a moment as he saw him take her hand with a smile and head towards the house, actually laughing out loud at something she had said.

Life was so unfair sometimes.

- A fifth bulb switched on in the now fairly light room, revealing that there was only one light left in the row. -

* * *

**Authors' notes:** This was definetly one of my favourite chapters to write. Honestly I love Mori-senpai; if I was a customer at the host club I'd definetly go for him or Kyouya. I also think that he's one of the more "worthy ones" when it comes to Haruhi. While silent, I imagine his love to be strongest. Hence why I put him last, really, although truthfully this is the only place where Mori has the opportunity to watch the two interact.  
In any case, like I said, last chapter - which is the next one - is going pretty well, so you'll probably be getting the ending of this little tale next Saturday. I hope you'll look forward to it, and I hope you liked this chapter, too. Let me know what you think, as usual, and thanks for reading! 


	8. Chapter 5

**Bright realizations**

**Chapter ****five: Sixth light  
**_by Reiyuka_

Thunder rumbled through the skies and Haruhi shuddered nervously as she walked through the hallways. There had yet to be lightning bolts but she intended to be somewhere safe and secluded before the actual lightning started.

She'd woken up almost an hour after she'd gone to bed. She hadn't really paid attention to the weather when she'd prepared for bed, but looking out the window now, it eluded her how she could have missed the storm clouds earlier. She shuddered again as the force of the thunder rolled over her. Haruhi tiptoed through the large hallway, hurrying along because of the cold marble floors. She had little to no idea of where she was. The Ootori vacation house was too huge for comfort, or so Haruhi thought. For the past week she had constantly lost her way. Each hallway looked like the next. She'd managed to orientate herself a bit depending on the artworks hanging on the walls. Now, in the pitch black, she had no way of finding her way. She didn't know which of her friends had his room on this floor, but she hoped to find one of them soon enough.

Then she heard a soft moaning... or groaning, Haruhi thought, as she walked further in the direction of the sound. She stopped in front of the double doors, a bit unsure, until she heard a loud gasp. With a soft knock she entered the room, hurrying towards the bed where someone was rolling around underneath the sheets. It didn't take long to identify the messy black hair as Kyouya's. She frowned worriedly and reached out to touch his forehead, afraid that he was having fever dreams. He didn't feel too hot, though, so she immediately classified the racking of his body under a regular nightmare. She sank down on her knees next to the bed, resting her arms on the covers as she watched the man who had recently become so precious to her. It had taken a while but she couldn't lie to herself anymore. Yesterday she had stumbled on a stone as they headed back to the house. He'd taken her hand to steady her, smiling brightly... and her heart had jumped. Ah, who was she kidding, her heart had done a whole act of the Swan Lake ballet. Haruhi had suspected it ever since the tea date, but it had still come as a bit of a shock.

It egged her now that she couldn't do anything to help him get rid of his nightmare. She jumped up as a flash of lightning suddenly caused an explosion of light in the room. Shuddering and squeaking she scurried underneath the blankets, eyes closed in terror. She'd almost forgotten he was there until she felt his arm slip around her waist. Her cheeks burned bright red as she opened her eyes to look at his face, relieved when she noticed he was still asleep. The sense of relief increased as his breathing slowed down. Whatever he had been dreaming, it was luckily shifting into a nicer dream.

Slowly it occurred to her how drowsy she felt. A warm feeling of contentment replaced her previous sense of terror. It was warm, comfy and safe next to Kyouya, and as such, completely impossible not to doze off.

Her last thought while awake was, "He smells so nice..."

* * *

Slowly his eyes opened, and he groaned as sunlight hit him full force in the face. He hated mornings. A quick glance at the clock on his nightstand told him it wasn't even seven am, meaning he could happily take the time to wake up properly. He closed his eyes again, drawing the source of warmth next to him closer.

Wait... warmth?

He pulled one of his arms away, carefully caressing the source of warmth; pretty sure that it was just a pillow or something. His eyes sprung open when instead of linen and fluff, he felt soft curves and even softer skin. Carefully he arched his neck, trying to see the face of the intruder in his bed. As he recognized Haruhi, Kyouya felt his cheek warm up for the first time in his adult life. Almost numbly he wondered what she was doing there, her tiny frame curving against his own body. He couldn't really be bothered with it, however, and closed his eyes again, relishing her presence.

Her hair smelled of ocean and sand, a fresh scent that made him experience all kinds of odd tingly feelings. He felt himself teetering on the line of self-control and self-constraint, considering the ups and downs of waking her with a kiss – or perhaps more, a part of his treacherous mind whispered to him. Ignoring his own desires as he had learned to do, Kyouya decided against it, pulling her a bit closer to his body and tightly wrapping his arms around her.

She was so tiny, he thought, putting all his senses in experiencing her. It was an odd twist of a nature, in a way, or so he figured. So delicate of body yet so strong of mind. The muscles in his arms tensed as he realized that he really did like her a lot. She was so intensely unique that it was almost unfair to other girls at their school.

He would sincerely pursue her if he could. Kyouya sighed inwardly as he contemplated the odds. Honey-senpai liked her perhaps the least of all, his mind still mostly occupied with sweets and cute fluffy things. He wasn't even going to ponder on how hard he would have struggle to get his other friends to give her up. Part of it was worth it, naturally, but the fact that his father had made a deal about it with Suoh-san kept him from it.

But she sure was something, he sighed again, watching her sleeping face with an intense pleasure. There just was something about that little mole on her cheek, or the birthmark on her shoulder. If he allowed himself to romanticize it he'd be able to sum up a lot of things, but Kyouya immediately sensed the mood that was coming and decided against it. Still, she made quite a sight, with those big, brown eyes of her...

He blinked a little, then managed a tiny smile. "Good morning." She returned his smile and stretched lightly, unconsciously scooting closer to him. Or not so unconsciously, he pondered, amazed as she reached her face up to his, carefully kissing him on the lips. Her voice sounded surprisingly soft and raspy as she replied, "Good morning."

For a second the thought crossed his mind how wonderful it would be to wake up to that.

The next second, his eyes widened in shock.

_- In a dark room on the third room of the Ouran High School, a sixth and final lamp lit on the wall. All six of them flickered off for a moment before burning brightly again, now accompanied with a whole bunch of lights, making one single kanji clear in the dark room. -_

_**- AI -**_

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**Authors' notes:** I'm so sorry for taking so long to update! GAH! I've had the rough draft of this chapter (along with the epilogue) ready for over two weeks, but I've been kept so busy that I just couldn't find the time to update. Thanks for sticking with me, though, and for the comments and reviews. It means so much to me, you have no idea. In any case, final bulb! -gasp- Only one chapter to go, and we're through with the story! I hope you like this one - tell me what you think, okay? This chapter is actually what caused me to write the story. I had a scene in mind of Haruhi crawling into bed with Kyouya, and that's where this fanfic came from. So! Let's hope you guys like it.  
Thanks again for reading!

Side note: "Ai" means Love in Japanese.


	9. Epilogue

**Bright realizations**

**Epilogue****  
**_by Reiyuka_

They sat silently together in the car ride home, once again "pushed" together by Tamaki Suoh and his cohorts. Kyouya hadn't realized it yesterday but Tamaki had done that fairly often lately. Realizing his own feelings was one thing, but realizing that Tamaki had sensed it before he had was quite something else. Kyouya really didn't want to ponder about how much the rest of them knew... especially Haruhi.

Then again, only hours ago, she _had_ kissed him good morning...

"I'm sorry about this morning, Kyouya-senpai." She was facing the little black window separating them from the driver, not in the mood to observe the scenery, while he was tapping away on his laptop. He didn't respond and Haruhi really couldn't bring himself to face him, so she elaborated. "I was walking through the hall because there was a thunderstorm, and I heard you toss around in your bed. Hence why I came into your room. I'm sorry if I surprised you." She sighed a little, glad that she didn't have to admit how spoiled she had gotten. Every time there had been a thunderstorm, either she'd be with one of them or they would call to make sure she was alright. It had amused her at first. Then she'd grown to appreciate it. Now it seemed she was dependant on it.

Her hands were tightly clutched together in her lap, the only thing revealing how nervous she was. Once again Kyouya doubted about the best course to take. It pained him to know that she was feeling unsure. It pained him even more because he wasn't sure if he could lift it. He sighed out loud and closed his laptop, the sound causing Haruhi to turn to him. "I was surprised," he admitted dryly, "but it wasn't a bad surprise." Her eyes widened and the corners of her mouth turned up. She nodded at him and turned her head to look outside, a feeling of contentment rushing over him. He smiled at the back of her head, opening his laptop again and tapping away.

His concentration failed him almost immediately, though. He felt like his heart was liquid – filled with love, flooding at the sight of her, at her smile, her laugh, the brightness in her eyes, and all that other mushy gooey crap he'd heard Tamaki say. Something had changed and it wasn't ever changing back. Kyouya felt his natural instincts fighting it, knowing that if he allowed it all to wash over him, he'd lose control. It's a kind of craziness; he realized suddenly, the type of craziness that wants to own a person while knowing that you can never ever own another human being. That was what made it hard for him to admit it. He sighed and tried to focus on his work again, ignoring both heart and mind as best as he could, thinking; "Let them fight it out themselves."

She wondered if he thought the apology had included the kiss. He hadn't apologized about it to her. So she wasn't about to apologize about her kiss to him. Idly she rested her forehead against the window, happily pressing her warm skin against the cold glass. Things had changed a lot between them the past three weeks. It felt like the evolution she'd made with all of the hosts during the past year was nothing compared to the rush of emotions of the past weeks. Liking and loving was such a difference, Haruhi had never known. She inhaled deeply and turned to him, only to find him staring at her in return.

"Kyouya-senpai?" She inquired softy. He, in turn, inhaled deeply, his eyes steadily staring into hers. "I really like you, Haruhi." It was more of a statement than a confession. Still, she nodded with a smile, "I love you too, Kyouya." His eyes widened at how readily she had admitted it, but he couldn't stop his hand from reaching for hers. Easily she slipped her tiny hand in his, grasping it tightly. "I might not be able to stay with you forever." His voice sounded unsure, and Haruhi hid a smile, knowing that he was serious about his concern. "I know. Don't worry about it." He wanted to say something more, but she had told him not to worry about it. So he wouldn't. If he did have to leave her, Kyouya thought, she'd move on, simple as that. His own heart was in more trouble. He returned her gentle smile with one of his own, shrugging a little and turning back to his computer screen. "Very well then."

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**Authors' notes:** THE END! Finally. X"D You guys have no idea how much I struggled over that last paragraph, seriously. I rewrote it about a dozen times, and I'm still not liking it much. But at least now it holds enough of Kyouya's "meh" attitude to be truthful.

I'd like to thank you for reading this - it means the world - and for sticking with me through this story. To my most awesome readers ever (you know who you are) who reviewed with every single chapter and helped me write the story, I love you to bits! My next story (which I'll start pretty soon, although not about Host Club) will definitely be dedicated to you.  
Thanks again for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day!


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